Roses and Thorns

As of today I have officially been in Eleuthera for one month! I have been so blessed during that month to meet incredible people and learn many things about life and ministry on this island.

This month has been wonderfully hard, and there’s no better way to put it. Wonderful because through all the really, really hard facts of living life and doing ministry here, God is breaking my heart and my plans and drawing me closer to Him and His.

As I was preparing for what to share with ya’ll today, my amazing fiancé called me out on being genuine. After having walked through this month with me and seen the many thorns among the roses, he challenged me to be genuine with those people that have loved and supported me the most, so here it goes.

I love meeting people here, they are so friendly and kind and willing to hang out with me…yet at the same time I’m realizing that I haven’t earned the right to scratch beneath the surface yet. A few friends that I’ve had for a long time are praying with me here and coaching me through it but this part is hard. Like in any community across the world, people want to know that you care and are invested in them before they let you in, and that is going to take a lot longer than a month or so here.

I’ve gotten to meet girls that I absolutely adore, that I want to love and be friends with and walk to Christ with, but for some right now I am no more than a comfortable house, with food and wifi-a place to hangout in! And that’s ok. I am learning what it means to set boundaries for things I thought were a given and what it means to form friendships across cultures. I am also learning to laugh at new jokes, not squint my eyes in pain when they plait my hair and brave new adventures that I never even imagined! God gave me a heart for these high school kids a long time ago and I am loving getting to know their names and their stories.

I am here to love and serve a country and people that I adore, but we have run into a few road blocks. We are still in the process of getting a work visa for me to be here, a process that I’m told takes two months each time you resend everything. August 7^th the man who is handling my visa stuff will send all the new forms in and we will wait. Now that didn’t not seem to be a problem at first because they have been very willing to allow me to stay by extending my “trip” time each month until it comes in and just continuing our work until then. However, when I went there yesterday I was told that without a work visa I cannot legally start ministry with Young Life.

Of all the hard things and the setbacks up til now, this was the most crushing of all. In order to not put myself or the ministry in jeopardy, this means no Young Life Camp, this means no Campaigners, this means no Club or YL leadership training or any form of Young Life Ministry meeting or work until they give me permission to start.

I came home and cried my eyes out, talked to Ben, my family and advisors and finally realized that though I am not accepted, not allowed to plant “Young Life” yet, not able to put on this incredible camp that I and so many others have prayed for and worked so hard on.. it’s not illegal for me to love people, and that’s all I really came here to do anyways.

So til the government sees fit to let me work, that’s what I am going to do. I am going to hang out with these high school friends I’ve met and meet new ones. I am going to dive into my church here and become an integral part of the work God is doing in that place. I am going to get to know people my age and learn what life here is really like for Bahamians, life behind the postcards and even behind the short mission trips.

And I am going to love, fiercely and unconditionally every moment they let me stay on this island.

I think it goes without saying that Ben, my family, my directors and I covet your prayers as we walk this new road that God has brought us to. We will be faithful and we know, without a doubt, that God always is.